Diesel fuel spills after accident at I-95 rest stop in Kittery Monday

Tuesday

Sep 25, 2012 at 3:15 AMSep 25, 2012 at 8:36 AM

By JIM HADDADINjhaddadin@fosters.com

KITTERY, Maine — About 150 gallons of diesel fuel leaked onto pavement and a dirt embankment in Kittery Monday after a tractor-trailer truck struck a parked tractor-trailer at the rest stop off Interstate 95.

Franki Delaney, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection's oil and hazardous materials responder in the region, said the fuel leak occurred after an 18-wheeler crashed into another truck at about 11:57 a.m. at the Welcome Center in Kittery. The truck that was hit was parked on an exit ramp leading vehicles back onto Interstate 95 north, Delaney said.

"Another tractor-trailer sideswiped him," she said.

During the accident, a side saddle tank attached to one of the trucks was ripped off, and an estimated 150 gallons of diesel spilled onto the ground, Delaney said. Kittery firefighters responded to the scene and spread sand and a quick-drying agent over the area, limiting the spread of the fuel, she said.

"The Fire Department did an amazing job," Delaney said.

Traffic was detoured away from the ramp into the evening to allow workers to clean up the fuel spill and distribute hay to prevent erosion. Drivers were forced to use Route 1 to connect to the highway.

Crews from National Wrecker Service, a towing company headquartered locally in Portsmouth, N.H., were called to remove contaminated dirt and haul it to a disposal site in nearby Eliot, Maine.

Delaney said there appears to have been little environmental impact from the spill. About 2 yards of dirt were replaced, she said.

"Luckily enough, it's just an embankment. It does drift down into a wooded area, but there's no nearby streams, brooks or ponds," she said.

It remained unclear Monday what caused the driver of the second tractor-trailer to swerve into the parked truck. A spokesman at the Maine State Police barracks in Alfred, who was contacted in the afternoon, referred comment about the incident to Maine DEP.

Delaney said authorities have determined the cause of the crash, but she declined to comment on it.

"I don't know if I'm allowed to say that or not," she said.

A dispatcher at the Kittery Police Department referred all comment to Maine State Police. Calls to the Kittery Fire Department were not returned Monday.